Bai Xiaowen naturally would not summon Guo Cai directly.
That was different from recruiting talents like Bing Yuan and Guan Ning.
It was certainly good if Bing Yuan and Guan Ning came, but if they did not, it would not matter much to Bai Xiaowen. At worst, he could appoint officials with slightly weaker governing abilities.
Guo Cai, however, was very likely connected to the clue for the A-Tier Hero Tier side quest: the Dragon-Patterned Gold Casket!
What if he resisted the government, held a grudge against the Yuan Clan, or had some other reason to run away after hearing about the recruitment? Once the clue was lost, finding him again would be difficult.
By acting indifferent toward Guo Cai in front of Wang Lie and Bing Yuan, Bai Xiaowen could both prevent Guo Cai from receiving advance notice and secretly fleeing, and establish the image of a driven and capable ruler.
To ordinary people, the Dragon-Patterned Gold Casket was merely a toy. If Bai Xiaowen abandoned the affairs of the Liaodong Four Commanderies to search for a toy, it would easily leave people with the impression that he was neglecting his ambitions for trivial amusements.
One should not assume that a recruited talent would definitely become one's own man. Although the Three Kingdoms era valued loyalty and righteousness, there was another saying: "A fine bird chooses a tree to roost in, and a worthy minister chooses a ruler to serve." Guo Jia had once belonged to Yuan Shao, but after deciding that Yuan Shao was not a wise ruler, he had secretly left and was subsequently recommended to Cao Cao by Xun Yu.
Though Yuan Shao was a descendant of four generations of Three Excellencies and had gathered many talents, even more talents had slipped away from under him